1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image pickup device and an image recording apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image pickup device that is adapted to pick up moving image and an image recording apparatus that is adapted to store the moving image.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-273604, filed Sep. 21, 2005, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
All patents, patent applications, patent publications, scientific articles, and the like, which will hereinafter be cited or identified in the present application, will hereby be incorporated by reference in their entirety in order to describe more fully the state of the art to which the present invention pertains.
FIG. 25 illustrates a configuration of a conventional image pickup device that is adapted to pick up moving images. The conventional image pickup device is realized by a camera 1z. The camera 1z includes a lens 102, a sensor 103, an image processing unit 104, and an image output unit 106. A light is incident into the lens 102 and focused on an image pickup surface of the sensor 103, thereby forming an image on the image pickup surface, so that the image is then optoelectronically converted by the sensor 103. The sensor 103 picks up an image of an object and generates an image signal based on the image of the object.
The image processing unit 104 receives the image signal that has been outputted from the sensor 103 and performs a predetermined function of processing the received image signal. The image signal that has been processed by the image processing unit 104 is transmitted to the image output unit 106 and then outputted from the output unit 106, so that the outputted image signal is then recorded by a recorder that is placed outside the camera 1z. 
A conventional image pickup device has been developed, which utilizes a CMOS sensor. This conventional image pickup device changes a read-out region of a sensor so as to switch between or among the following formats, each of which includes the size of an image picked up and a frame rate.
The First Format: 4k {QHD (Quadruple High Definition) or SHD (Super High Definition)}/60 fps (fps: frame per second).
The Second Format: HDTV (High Definition Television)/90 fps.
The Third Format: 720 p/150 fps.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-328034 discloses a conventional image pickup device that replays time-serially the divided sets of image data so as to produce a united moving image, wherein the divided sets of image data have been assigned with different names and stored in plural storage media.